


G̴̢̧̬͖̖̭̲̭͙͊̈́̏̓LITÇ̷̘̥̟̩͔̽̏͗͜͠H || Android!Kid x Reader (AU)

by xCaptainHowdy



Category: One Piece
Genre: Android, F/M, Fluff and Angst, One Piece - Freeform, Romance, Urban Exploration, glitch - Freeform, law being creepy as fuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:41:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29152158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xCaptainHowdy/pseuds/xCaptainHowdy
Summary: ᴴⁱ, ʰⁱ?Is this thing recording? Good: three, two, one, and...𝙃𝙞! 𝙈𝙮 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙨 (Y/N), 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄'𝙢 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮. 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚.(Y/N), an urban explorer, decides to film a short documentary on the mysterious place that can be found in her city's forest: an abandoned laboratory.Due to the rumours, she suspects something happened there and wants to unveil the truth. But what will she do now that she has awaken whatever was sleeping in the darkness?
Relationships: Eustass Kid/Reader
Comments: 26
Kudos: 55





	1. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟎𝟏 - 𝙐𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where MC is recording her conspiracy theories while walking through a forest at midnight in search of proof in an abandoned and creepy laboratory.

"Hi, hi? Is this thing recording? Good: three, two, one, and...", (Y/N) clapped once and started to talk in front of the camera, "Hello! My name is (Y/N) , I'm recording in the woods of my city, South Blue. It's midnight", she showed her phone's screen to the camera. It marked 00:04, "and I believe something weird is happening here".

She turned the lens to film the path in front of her while she walked.

"I know, you must be thinking: _'(Y/N) , what the hell are you doing walking around alone in the forest at night?'_ ", she turned the camera to her to answer her own question, "I was wondering the same thing, but I got a good answer".

She walked through the shrubbery, careful not to rip her clothes. Thank goodness she had dressed nicely for the occasion: the same clothes she used against the cold and nature when she went out to do some urban exploration.

"Have you guys heard about this forest's rumours? Well, I guess if you're not from here, there's no way you could have heard them... Briefly: people say weird... stuff happened inside South Blue's abandoned laboratory. You know, experimentation with humans and all of that".

(Y/N) kicked a rock with her foot, careful not to trip. She brought a flashlight with her to light up the path, but it still was too dark. At least she could see better with the night vision of her camera.

"They're just rumours. Things grown-ups told children so they wouldn't enter the forest (as I'm doing) and hurt themselves", she laughed a bit, "But a few weeks ago, something weird has been happening: all of the animals are moving away from the forest. This will sound like I'm paranoid but let me explain". She smiled, even though the camera wasn't pointing at her.

She almost trips with a tree root, but as she was walking at a slow pace, she could retrieve her balance. She focused the camera so it wouldn't point to the floor.

"Sorry about that; I almost fell", she cleared her throat, "Whatever. All of this started three weeks ago, more or less. The neighbours found dead birds near the forest since it's where they go to take their dogs out. This is not fake, a reliable source of information told me: my neighbour, Jinbei. He takes his dog for a walk around there from time to time. And I thought: "Okay, that's weird, but it might be an animal, a dog or something, the one who's killing them".

She pointed the camera to the ground, focusing on a sparrow's dead body.

"No; they don't have blood, nor wounds. Nothing", she zoomed in, "Poor bird...", she whispered, "It's like they had died in the middle of the flight. It can happen, I guess, due to the cold or something... But it's springtime! And isn't weird that it happened so frequently? Moreover, Jinbei's dog (a huge Saint Bernard) started to whimper when he took it to the forest. His dog!", she made her surprise clear, "It's better trained than the thugs that don't know trash cans are a thing, here", she scoffed, "Bonbon never behaved like that. Oh, Bonbon is the dog's name, by the way".

(Y/N) continued her path, stepping with extreme care to avoid almost tripping again. She was getting close to her goal.

"And that's when things got suspicious. And since I'm the best urban explorer...", she jested, "Well, maybe my town's best urban explorer (yes, if you're wondering, I'm the only one). Anyway, since I'm my town's best urban explorer, I decided to investigate. And you know what I found?"

(Y/N) straightened her backpack and jumped over a fence that wasn't even a meter tall.

"Nothing! I found nothing. I wanted to know more about that laboratory, having all of my suspicions on top of it. If all of the animals were walking away from here, where that place is, it would be only logical. But on the internet? Nothing (nothing useful, at least). In the library? Nothing. So, what was left? Indeed, my friends, I had to go there myself to investigate".

(Y/N) moved away from some willow leaves that blocked her sight and pointed the camera towards the place she had come to find.

"There it is... The laboratory: L.T.I.O ". She had a goosebump.


	2. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟎𝟐 - 𝙇.𝙏.𝙄.𝙊

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where MC finds out some creepy shit the scientists did in the lab

"There it is... The laboratory L.T.I.O.", she stopped to think, "What did the acronym mean? Hmm, Location of Tarantulas and Insects all Over?", she looked around, "I hope not".

She approached the front door of the big building, moving the lens to the sign that showed the acronym L.T.I.O.

"Now, for real, they mean Official Laboratory of Technology and Intelligence. Yeah, they messed it up and put the O at the end. We called it Lithium Laboratory for short. Isn't it incredible the fact that there's basically no information about it on-line? I'm sure they wanted to hide whatever they were doing among these walls... And I'm here to unveil it. I hope the FBI won't be knocking on my door tomorrow", she laughed at her own joke, "If I survive until tomorrow, of course". She also said it in a joking manner, but she was nervous, nonetheless.

She tried to open the door. The doorknob was somewhat dirty, and she was glad she had put her gloves beforehand. She turned the doorknob and pushed... And nothing. She tried to pull. That wasn't it, either.

"Alright, the front door seems to be locked. Or stuck", she added with an eerie voice, "Let's try another way".

(Y/N) walked around the building, looking around in case any window was broken so she could get it. The other option would be to break it herself with a rock but, even if the place was abandoned, she doubted that would be legal. She also doubted entering that lab without permission was legal but her adventurous and detective-like spirit was more important than legality itself.

"Hell yeah, guys", she pointed the camera to a window whose glass was broken. Some shards remained in their place, but (Y/N) wouldn't have any problems to enter without cutting herself, "And it's big enough so I can get through. I've won the lottery". She said with a smile while she kicked some glass shards away to enter. With the camera in his hand, she first placed a foot inside, minding not to touch the shards with her other hand.

She did a small jump and landed inside with a grunt.

"Breaking in: completed", she whispered as a joke, "Now I only hope no homeless people are living here for real. That would be awkward", she sighed. (Y/N) didn't know that would be the least of her problems.

She found herself in an office. Everything was white. The walls, the floor, even the desk and furniture.

"Goodness gracious", she approached the desk full of papers, "Let's take a look at them, shall we?"

She spent some time reading them, but they were just unimportant analysis or things she didn't fully understand.

"If anyone knows what those documents are about, please, write it in the comments. Let's see if I can find something more interesting". She exited the room, not before poking her head first and looking at both sides. Just in case.

In the office's door, there was a small black sign with white letters. It was written "DR. RODMAN".

"Hey, doctor Rodman, that's my great grandfather", she said and then whispered to the camera, "I'm joking. We'll search info about him later. Let's keep moving".

She walked through the eerie hallways. The rest of the doors were closed (some were half-open), but she would lie if (Y/N) said she wasn't scared of opening them. Instead of facing her fears, she decided to head for the end of the hallway, where a big metallic door made her feel more at ease.

"Let's go that way".

She pushed the door with her foot. It turned out to be heavier than expected, and she pushed with her shoulder, too.

She whistled upon seeing the room.

"Wow...", she filmed the place. It was a huge room with a command table with functions she didn't know about, and more computers and screens that in Target, "Will they still be functioning? It's not like I would like to take one with me or anything, "she jested, "I'm joking, I'm joking, I don't want sheriff Smoker to yell at me if he watches this video. Please, don't watch this video..."

She approached the largest table she had seen in her life. There were too many buttons, levers, and little screens to even describe them, but (Y/N) would have compared the sight to a pilot cabin. She hadn't seen one, though. But she bet they were similar.

"Should I push the buttons?", she whispered, wanting to know what would happen, "Do you think it will explode? They shouldn't bee working if this place's abandoned. I don't think they kept paying the electricity bill", she pushed a button. It lighted up in yellow, "Holy shit!", she stepped back, "I messed up".

All the table of commands lighted up. (Y/N) was good at technology and mechanics, but it wasn't necessary to be a genius to know that, if all the lights turn on and there are weird noises, something works.

When, after waiting a bit, she saw that nothing else activated, she got closer to see if she could decipher how that worked.

"I'll be honest; I'm not an expert on laboratory command tables... I'll try them later, maybe. Just in case it explodes. Let's explore first, and then it can explode", (Y/N) approached some white, squared lockers, "Let's see what we can find around here".

She tried to open each locker, and all of them were empty. But there was one which she couldn't open. The only one with a lock, so she imagined she would need a key to open it. She read what was written on the locker: Dr. Komarov.

"And that's my other great grandfather from Russia", (Y/N) loved to tell trite jokes, "Should we search for the key inside doctor Komarov's office? Or not waste time and break the locker?", she pointed the camera at her, faking she heard an answer from her followers, "I like your funny words, magic man", she hit the door with her elbow, "Ouch... It seemed easier in the movies...", she focused the camera on her again, pouting her lips, and whispered, "...Let's search for the key".

She turned around to exit the room, and she almost gasped when she thought she had seen a shadow disappearing in the hallway.

"What the fuck...", she whispered as low as possible, trying to not even make noise with her breathing, "Have you guys seen that? Is it recorded?". She asked to no one in particular, and she regretted not having done a live transmission instead of a recording.

(Y/N) gulped and sighed, biting her lip while she pointed the camera to the door.

"Must have been my imagination... I'll have to pass by there, anyway", she approached the exit, repeating the same process of peeping and looking at both sides. It was clear, "It may have been an insect. Don't be nervous, (Y/N) , don't be nervous..."

She left the room and returned to the previous hallway. She would never confess to the camera that she almost got lost looking for that hallway. His friend Zoro would have mocked her for months. And it would have been fair because (Y/N) mocked him when the greenhead got lost. But he got lost too much, it was exaggerated. She took a mental note to remember telling his mechanic lessons friend what she had found in Lithium before uploading the video on YouTube.

She found the door with the Russian last name and didn't waste time opening it (luckily, it wasn't locked), and she entered while looking behind her. She had the uncomfortable feeling she wasn't alone in there, and even though she knew she was suggesting herself and that it wasn't real, she couldn't calm down her accelerated breathing.

She pondered about what was the best option: leaving the door open to have an exit if something attacked, or closing the door in case something attacked? She thought the second option was better, believing the danger would be outside.

"We're safe", she almost put a chair against the doorknob, "Now, let's look for that damned key". She looked at her phone's time. It was 00:56.

Somewhat anxious, (Y/N) began rummaging through the drawers, through the shelves, through the desk, not caring if she made a mess. She doubted the Russian doctor would come back to shout at her.

"It should be somewhere...", she left the camera on the desk while she made the office look like a hurricane had passed by, "Where would I hide an important key if I were a Russian scientist", she faked thinking, "¡Vodka!", she snapped her fingers, "Nah, there are not bottles of vod-", she saw one on the shelf, "You must be fucking with me".

She got on her toes to take it and saw there was a key beneath the bottle.

"No way, dude, how lucky", she whispered in surprise, "You'll think this is fake", she laughed and took the camera again, "But I swear, everything is real. Now, let's see what her locker hides. I just hope it's not more vodka..."

She completed her ritual of peeking her head out and looking around before stepping out. Clear. She returned to the room at a fast pace, being scared of staying in the same place for too long. Everything looked the same. (Y/N) dashed to the locker and opened it while she hummed the music of _The Legend of Zelda_ when a chest opened.

"Great, another key", she said, somewhat disappointed. She took it in her fingers, "Although this look like a card. Like... a USB? I don't know", she looked at the table, discovering an interesting groove, "Oh! It's like in films. It's the type of key you put here", she inserted the key in the groove, "you twist it", she twisted her wrist, "and something happens".

She waited a bit, but nothing happened. She furrowed her lips.

"Mmm... Maybe not everything works". Just when she finished pronouncing those words, all of the computers and screens turned on. (Y/N) opened her mouth in surprise, as excited as nervous.

**_[ MONITOR 1 ]_ **

"Wow... that's so cool". ** _  
_**

**_[ MONITOR 2 ]_ **

loading . . .

█▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

"Loading what? Oh, god, what did I do?", she bit her nails due to the nervousness, "Well, let's check this out while it loads, shall we?", she pointed the camera to the screen and took the mouse, "Let's see, what's this 'read.txt'?"

**[CLICK]**

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

Project_05

_December 12th of 2013_

Project 04 was a failure. We start with project 05.

_January 24th of 2014_

Project 05 works exceptionally. Much better than 03. It's stronger, more powerful, it wears off less and saves more energy.

_June 6th of 2014_

We start to implement Artificial Intelligence on the android. _Its_ the moment of truth.

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

10%

███▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

(Y/N) gasped.

"That can't be... Did he really write _its_ instead of _it's_?", she shook her head while looking at the camera, "That's too long, spill the tea".

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

_May 1st of 2017_

Everything seemed to be working fine, so doctor Rodman insisted on taking the android to its limit implementing an ability (still in process) called "free will". Carlein disagreed, but the operation took place anyway.

_May 8th of 2017_

We can't control the android.

_May 9th of 207_

He's a beast.

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

"Dude, that's so fucked up, what where they doing here...?", she kept scrolling, "2017... That was four years ago, when they closed the laboratory and abandoned it", she let out a nervous laugh, "Thank goodness nothing of that still remains around here".

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

_¿? ¿? of 2017_

I can't force myself to destroy my best creation. Still, it is dangerous to let it live. Therefore, I have disconnected its motor and hidden the key that activates him back in a safe place. As a scientist, I cannot destroy such a big technological advance, but, as a person, I have the moral obligation to protect the rest of the world.

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

(Y/N) stayed silent for a moment. She glanced at the monitor that kept loading that "project 05".

"...", she swallowed and licked her lips, "Fuck me. Why did I come here to touch some buttons?"

30%

█████▒▒▒▒▒

(Y/N) she closed the text document (she had finished "reading" it) and clicked on the image.

"Damn, he looking fine", she blurted out, "They called him 'Eustass Kid', huh? Android designed for... Oh great, I can't read it. Is it a glitch?"

50%

███████▒▒▒

"Let's check the file", she clicked on the icon.

⌨

A woman's robotic voice came from some speakers.

**[Searching in data base]**

**ELEMENTS MISSING:** **  
**

❰ **left_hand.exe is missing** ❱

❰ **vocal_chords.exe is missing** ❱

❰ **full_vision.exe is missing** ❱

❰ **AIM.exe is missing** ❱

—I don't get it.

100%

██████████

**[Do you want to complete the download?]**

**[Yes]** **[No]**

"No fucking way, I learned my lesson: don't touch buttons if you don't know what they do", she moved the mouse towards the "No" button and clicked.

**[Proceeding to complete the download]**

**[Opening gates]**

"WHAT?", she said louder than she expected, and she feared she would have revealed her position to the shadow she'd seen before, even though she tried to convince herself it had been her imagination, "But I clicked the "NO" button!

She grunted and brought her hands to her face.

"That's it, I'm done, I'm tired of technology. I'm gonna drop out of school", she joked, picking up the camera. In reality, she loved what she studied too much to leave it, "But I'm leaving this place. Enough exploration for today, I don't want to see how this ends".

(Y/N) turned around to look at the exit, but the sound of gates opening stopped her right in her tracks. She turned her head to look at how some doors she hadn't seen before were slowly opening.

"Holy shit...". She whispered. Great, now the android was going to come out like Schwarzenegger and was going to kill her. Jinbei wouldn't have anyone to chat with when he came out at the balcony, poor Bonbon wouldn't get more dog treats from (Y/N) and Smoker would visit her tomb to say to her: "I told you to not do more urban explorations":

When (Y/N) had already written her will in her head, the doors fully opened.

There was nothing inside.

"...What?", she sighed in relief, "Now I feel stupid. How could I have believed some scientists created an android so powerful, not even them could control him and had caged him here? Bitch, please". She laughed.

The robotic voice spoke once again.

**[ERROR: The gated were already open previously]**

**[We remind you that the containment period only lasts 4 years]**

**[If you want to extend it, please, introduce the password]**

**********

"What password?", she said, "Containment period? Are you saying that thing (that sexy thing) was caged inside that?", she opened her eyes as big as oranges when she put all the pieces together, "And the containment period only lasts four years... And it's been four years since the scientist locked him in", she spoke quieter each time, "And the doors have been opened before... So, that means..."

(Y/N) she had a bad feeling. She turned around slowly, seeing a two-metre-tall man with an ice-cold look.

"Uhm... Hi". She said with a fake smile, voice trembling.

The android looked impassive at her and started to walk to her with a lifted hand. (Y/N) took it as a death threat and didn't waste two seconds to run away, hiding behind the command table.

"Not the camera! It was fucking expensive!"

The android followed her with a steady step, reaching an arm (the right arm, since his left hand was missing four fingers) to catch her. (Y/N) dodged him, went around the table and ran to the door. The android almost managed to catch her by the backpack.

The girl ran through the corridors, crashing with the walls due to the speed, tracing her steps back to Dr. Rodman's office to get out through the window.

"Finally", she panted, reaching the window. She looked back while she jumped towards her salvation. It was following her, "Fucking shit, fucking shit". She cussed.

She began running in the forest.

"Please, don't follow me, please don't follow me...", she prayed. She tried to run at a slower pace when she reached stretches with a lot of obstacles, but she feared those seconds she didn't use to run faster would be the doom of her. She also didn't dare to look back, in case the android would be right behind her.

When she exited the forest, her ankles hurt like hell and her lungs were frozen from hyperventilating with her mouth open. Just then, she squinted her eyes and looked at the forest.

It didn't look like a giant redhead robot was following her. It would make noise. She supposed.

She risked resting a bit and took the camera.

"What the...?", she pressed the buttons, "That can't be..."

Her battery had run out. The question was, what could she record and what not?


	3. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟎𝟑 - 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where MC is safe and sound back at home and wants to tell his best friend, Zoro, about what she found

"(Y/N)! Wake up, you lazy piece of shit!" her best friend's voice was heard outside the house. It was Zoro.

"I don't feel like it...". The girl rolled on her bed, getting tangled with the bedsheets, not wanting to get up.

She thought she had won until a few loud knocks on her room's door fully woke her up.

"(Y/N)! I'm going to tear this door down if you don't get up". It was Zoro's voice.

"Does that mean you've torn down the entrance door, too? How did you get in here?". She asked. The sound of keys being shaken came from the other side of the door.

"You keep an extra pair of keys under the doormat. Not so safe, if you ask me".

"And who told you that?"

"You did".

"Oh".

"Are you going to open the door or what?". He said exasperated.

"I'm coming, I'm coming", she sighed, getting up from the mattress, her muscles a bit sore, "What a sore ache...". She opened the door and greeted Zoro despite still wearing her pyjamas.

"I can't believe you were still sleeping. You have...", he pulled out his phone, "fifteen minutes to get ready, eat breakfast and go to class".

"FIFTEEN?", she dashed to the bathroom, grabbed a hairbrush and started to brush her hair, "Shit, shit". She muttered through her teeth when the brush got stuck with the tangles of her hair.

"Is that your hair or a bird's nest?"

"Ha, ha", she replied, "You're so funny". Zoro laughed.

"I'll be good for today, and I'll make you breakfast".

"Can you get my backpack ready, too?". She jested.

"Don't push your luck". The greenhead headed for the kitchen.

(Y/N) closed the door to get changed (not because she didn't trust him, but just in case there was an accident). She got her backpack ready and went down the stairs in record time.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch". She complained with each step she went down.

"This is what ageing does to your body?", Zoro mocked her, "Man, you sure are old".

"That may be it", she sat on the table and devoured the marmalade toasts her friend had prepared for her, "But aside from that, my muscles are sore because I ran a lot yesterday". She spoke with a full mouth, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Were you trying to escape from your stupidity?". Zoro insulted her, and (Y/N) almost choked on her toast.

"I'm not telling you anymore", she faked being mad at him and put the rest of the bread in her mouth like a hamster and went to brush her teeth. She still had five minutes.

When she got out, she opened the door and glanced at Zoro to follow her.

"What do we have today?". The girl asked.

"An exam".

"WHAT?"

"I'm kidding". He laughed at her.

"You woke up feeling like a comedian, today, huh?"

"I always feel like a comedian", he smirked, "What was that thing you wanted to tell me about?"

"Oh, yeah", she lowered her voice in a confidential tone, "Last night I went to the abandoned laboratory", she couldn't contain her smile.

"Are you crazy? Do you know what Smoker will do with you if he finds out? He'll butcher you, give the meat to Sanji's restaurant, he'll order him to make hamburgers, and he'll eat them".

"You know that's not true", she frowned, "Sanji wouldn't dare to cook human meat".

"You're right", he changed the subject, "And? Found anything?"

" _Found anything_ , you say?", (Y/N) bent down Zoro to her height, grabbing his shoulder, "I found the coolest shit ever, dude. Come to my house when the lessons are over. I still haven't checked the recordings. We'll watch them together, alright?"

"Hell yeah, you know I love that stuff". They did a high five, and one of those complicated hand greetings only friends can do.

(Y/N) spent every hour in class tapping her fingers or her pencil on the desk, anxious to check the recordings. She was also looking through the window in direction of the forest, even though the university was far away from it.


	4. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟎𝟒 - 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙞𝙙

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where MC shows Zoro the recordings and plans to return to the lab

It was time to go back home. (Y/N) exited her faculty hastily, going to search for Zoro in the cafeteria. He was lucky, and his classes ended before hers on Fridays. Fridays: those glorious days.(Y/N) felt she could taste a Friday like it was ambrosia.

She entered the cafeteria where Zoro was eating with Luffy, Nami and Robin, (Y/N)’s friends since primary school. Zoro moved in South Blue not long ago, and they became friends quite fast, so (Y/N) presented him to her friends who were studying different majors. Nami and Robin studied History, and Luffy… Well, Luffy didn’t study in the campus, but it was open to everyone. He wasn’t made up for university, but he was a genius when it came to martial arts (he practised them since he was a child) so he found a good job in Rob Lucci’s dojo.

“Hey!”. (Y/N) elongated the last vowel, greeting Nami and Robin with a kiss on the cheek and sitting next to Zoro.

“(Y/N), Zoro told us you went to the abandoned laboratory last night”. Nami said as if she didn’t believe it.

“Blabbermouth!”, she glanced at him, “I wanted to tell the story”, she clicked her tongue, “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Yes! And I recorded everything! Well, maybe not everything”, she scratched her cheek, “I ran out of battery when I was returning home”.

“Is it true there are human bodies inside crystal cylinders?”. Luffy asked with excitement.

“Uh, n-no, I don’t remember seeing anything like that…”. She got a goosebump when she remembered the android. ‘Eustass Kid’.

“You worry me, (Y/N)”, Robin spoke, her chin resting on her hand, “It’s dangerous to wander around those places at night”.

“Aw, Robin, you’re such a sweetheart”, she pouted, “But I’ll be fine! Don’t worry”. She smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine!”. Luffy did the same and smiled at Robin with a thumbs up. Nami punched him on the head.

“You only want (Y/N) to find scary things so you can see the recordings!”. She reprimanded him.

“You should come with me one day, Luffy”, (Y/N) offered, and he looked at her with bright eyes.

“Don’t give him any ideas, (Y/N)!”, she laughed at Nami’s reaction.

“Sorry, sorry”, she saw that Zoro had finished his last rice ball, “Should we get going?”, the greenhead nodded and grabbed his backpack.

“Bye, guys”. They said goodbye.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

When they got home, (Y/N) threw her backpack on the floor (since it didn’t have anything of value inside. The books about mechanic didn’t count; they were harder than the floor). Zoro left it aside on the floor, stretching.

“Let’s see what kind of paranormal activity you have captured this time”, Zoro sat on the chair in (Y/N)’s desk.

“I think you would have preferred to see a ghost instead of what I’m going to show you”, she warned him, connecting the camera to the computer, “And that’s my seat”.

“Finders keepers; losers weepers”. He replied.

“How old are you? Five?”. She laughed.

“Older than you think”. He replied mysteriously.

“Oh, great, now you’re a thousand-year-old vampire that has nothing better to do than repeat the academic year endless times”, she jested, referencing Twilight, “The videos are ready! Look, look…”. She sat on Zoro’s knee since he had taken the place where she always sat.

The screen started to show what she had recorder at 00:04.

_**“Hi, hi? Is this thing recording?”** _

“Well, this is irrelevant”. She sped up the video and played it at normal speed again, minutes before she had seen the shadow.

**_"What the fuck… Have you guys seen that? Is it recorded?"_ **

She paused the video.

“Did you see it?”. She asked while pointing to the screen, nervous.

“No, what?”

(Y/N) played it again, now at 0.5x speed.

A black silhouette could be seen, disappearing in the corridor.(Y/N) covered her mouth with her hands.

“Oh my god, it was something, it had been there since that moment”, she blurted out nervously.

“Wow, wow, okay, no fucking way. How do you have the guts to enter these places at night by yourself?”

(Y/N) got up and posed like a brave hero. She smiled cockily before speaking.

“The answer is…”, she began, “I have no clue”, she stopped having a confident stance, “The truth is I have nightmare right after that”.

“You’re stupid”, Zoro facepalmed, “And what do you mean it had been there since that moment? Did you find it again? Or, to start with, what is “it”? Or who?”

“An image is worth more than a thousand words”, she clicked the play button.

**_"Damn, he looking fine"_ **

(Y/N) shrugged with guilt upon Zoro’s gaze.

**_"They called him 'Eustass Kid', huh? Android designed for... Oh, great, I can't read it. Is it a glitch?"_**

The image and the audio stopped there.

“It can’t be”, she said with a poker face.

“What’s the matter?”

“My batter ran out of battery at that moment…”, she brought her hands to her head and let herself fall on the bed, “Instants before I was face to face with that… that… android!”

“An android?”, Zoro repeated, shocked.

“Yes”

“Did you hit your head when running through the woods like a Disney princess?”

“No! I’m serious! You know I don’t lie about my urban explorations. I’m not like those people who prepare a show with threads and edits their videos”. She felt somewhat offended. She valued honesty before everything.

“I know, I know, but… an android? Inside there? Moving by itself?”

“Why not? You’ve seen the documents filmed in the video!”, she remembered one of the most important parts hadn’t been recorded, “Moreover, after my battery ran out, the robotic voice said something: that the containment period had expired and it only lasted four years. The last document is from 2017. We’re in 2021. I don’t know, you do the math, smart-ass. And the doors were the android was supposed to be, had already been opened before I came in and messed around. Therefore, the containment period must have about three weeks ago, when all those weird things started to happen in the forest”.

Zoro stared at her with sluggish eyes, not blinking, listening to her theory.

“Androids…”, he sighed, “I believe you, (Y/N). And… now what? You’re not going to return, are you?”

“Maybe”. She said quickly.

“Are you crazy?”. He almost shouted.

“I can’t upload the video like this!”, she justified herself, “I’ll go back, film that thing without him realizing and I’ll be back. Easy peasy”. She smiled.

“What surprises me is the fact that you’re still alive”.

“That’s my gift”, she laughed evilly, both hands on her waist, “But I’m not that stupid, I’ll go there during the daytime. See? That’s why I’m still alive”. She tapped her temple twice with her index finger.

“If you say so…”, he got up the chair, “Be careful, alright?”, he picked up his backpack, “See you at Nami’s party next week?”

(Y/N) remembered that Nami was organizing a party next weekend to celebrate holidays were starting.

“Sure, I’ll be there”, they hugged goodbye, “See you on Monday, Zoro”.

“See you”. Zoro headed for the exit door without her showing him the way.

She heard the sound of the door opening and closing while she stared at the computer screen, biting her nails.


	5. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟎𝟓 - 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙗

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where MC's plan didn't go as planned, but the android's did

⌦ 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙗 ⌫

Contrary to what would normally happen, (Y/N) got up early that Saturday. She was in front of the computer, searching for information on Doctor Rodman and Komarov.

"Scientists specialized in robotics, artificial intelligence... Damn, they have everything", she scrolled down the Wikipedia, "Date of death... You can't be serious, 2017...". A shiver ran down her spine.

Could it be that the android...?

"There are no causes of death written", she scrunched her nose, "That lets my imagination run too much. And it shouldn't before going back to Lithium". She looked through the window, stretching in her chair with her arms behind her nape.

She got up, changed her pyjamas for her urban exploration clothes, took her camera (this time fully charged), an energy bar to snack on the way there and a dog treat. No, not for her, obviously.

"Bonbon", she hummed, entering the balcony. She whistled softly. (Y/N)'s and Jinbei's balcony were connected together, only separated by a useless piece of plastic that acted as a wall. At first, she found it quite uncomfortable, but when she got to know her neighbour better (and his doggy) she was glad she could take that barrier off to talk to him or play with Bonbon.

The dog appeared with its tongue out.

"Hi there, sweetie", she smiled and talked to him with a high-pitched voice. Don't judge her, everyone's voice goes an octave higher when talking to animals, "Look what I got". She gave Bonbon the treat and pet him when the dog finished eating.

Jinbei went to the balcony dressed in his Japanese style bathrobe. His glasses were covered in steam, so she guessed he had been reading and drinking tea. He only wore glasses to read, and he only drank tea when he had a book in his hands.

"Good morning, (Y/N). Exploring again?". He asked kindly.

"Yes", she got up and talked before he could, "And yes, Jinbei, I'm carrying the pepper spray you gave me".

"Good. I don't want anything bad happening to my neighbour, be very careful", his voice sounded like that of a father scolding his child, "Isn't that right, Bonbon?", Jinbei mimicked the dog's voice, "That's right, woof".

The girl laughed.

"Thank you, Jinbei. I'll be back soon, I'm going out when the sun is out today".

"Good luck". He waved goodbye.

On the way to the forest, she greeted

a few more people like Sanji and Thatch, the cooks of the most popular restaurant in South Blue. They were carrying bags of food, so they must be restocking. She thought she should treat Zoro to eat there during the holidays. The food was to die for.

She entered the forest, taking out her camera to start recording only when she was in front of the window through which she had escaped two days ago.

During the daytime, it didn't look as creepy. At least not the forest, because the interior of the building still gave her the creeps. But maybe that was because of her meeting with a two-metre-tall killing piece of metal. Well, the 'killing' part was still unknown. (Y/N) hoped she wouldn't have to find out.

She climbed up the window, trying to be quiet. Maybe that thing was waiting for her... She pointed the camera to the door. She peeked and... no one was there.

She stood still to think about her plan. Or her lack of a plan, actually. She went outside to record it and go back home, but could she even record the android without it knowing she was there? (Y/N) thought it was an impossible mission.

"Yolo", she whispered and headed for the big room where she found the android for the first time. The room was empty, and the doors were locked, "If I were a two-metre-tall android, where would I be? Probably behind of", she turned around slowly, "me..."

There it was. Good lord, next time she would try and say: "If I were a thousand dollars, where would I be? In my bank account!". She would be rich that way.

(Y/N) was scared, but she tried not to freeze and stepped back.

"I already filmed it; I'm out". She tried to do the same manoeuvre she did the other night, running behind the table to circle it and escape through the door.

But the android didn't move.

In fact, not only it stayed on the threshold, but it also even crossed its arms and leaned on the door frame.

(Y/N) was surprised, and the sudden action made her even more nervous. What was it doing?

The android pointed at her and then brought its hand to its chest.

"Uhm... I don't speak android". She managed to say. She could swear she saw it rolling its eyes. Could androids do that?

The android known as Kid closed the doors of the room. And locked them with a key. What the fuck. (Y/N)'s heart started beating fast. She tried to slyly pull the pepper spray Jinbei gave her out and hid it behind her back.

The android walked up to her, and when it was close enough, she sprayed it.

"Retreat!". She stepped back a bit after the attack.

It didn't even flinch.

"Oh, right, I don't think androids are affected by something like this...". She looked at the pepper spray.

'Eustass Kid' wiped the liquid of its eyes as if it was nothing and grabbed the camera (Y/N) had left on the table.

"Hey, hey, no, no. Not the camera", she lifted a hand in the air, "Let's talk like civilized people, okay?"

The android arched an eyebrow, but it seemed to accept the offer and left it back on the table. It pointed to its neck.

"You can't talk?". The girl asked. He nodded and approached a monitor to turn it in her direction. It was the screen where it had been written:

**❰ left_hand.exe is missing ❱**

**❰ vocal_chords.exe is missing ❱**

**❰ full_vision.exe is missing ❱**

**❰ AIM.exe is missing ❱**

"Oh, you're missing those...", she looked at the screen, "Right, vocal cords, left hand, some vision and... AIM? What is that?"

The android shrugged.

"How can you not know?"

The redhead huffed. It pointed at her again. Then at the monitor. And, lastly, at him.

"You want me to help you retrieve those things?". Kid nodded.

(Y/N) thought about it for a second.

"And what do I get as an exchange?", yes, she was negotiating with an android. It pointed to the camera, "My exchange is that you're not breaking my camera?", she looked at it in the eye, defeated, "That sounds like a good deal, mister Eustass". She replied sarcastically and somewhat bothered. No one threatened to break his precious camera.

"Well... Where do we start?"

The android gave her a pleased smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¡Sorry for the wait! Translating the chapters takes quite a bit of time, so I wanted to focus on writing first in Spanish ^^'


	6. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟎𝟔 - 𝙄_𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙_𝙪𝙥.𝙚𝙭𝙚

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where MC helps the creepy android just to get threatened. Karma's a bitch

⌦ 𝙄_𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙_𝙪𝙥.𝙚𝙭𝙚 ⌫

"Well... Where do we start?"

The android pointed to the second file: vocal_chords.exe

"Yeah, that looks like a good start. Let's see...", she looked around, gave up and looked at the android, "I don't know how to help you".

The redhead grabbed (Y/N) by the wrist without previous notice, making her gasp in shock and fear she would lose her arm. It placed the girl's hand on his nape. It pulled the neck of his shirt down a bit to reveal some kind of tattoo in its back, just where its nape started. It had the number 05 tattooed, and (Y/N) realized there was a lid that could be opened. It was almost inconspicuous, but her eagle eye saw little screws in its back.

"Are there any tools nearby?", she stepped back a bit. The redhead pointed to a toolbox that wasn't there the previous day, "You have it all prepared... You were waiting for me, weren't you?". The android just gave her a mocking smirk, confirming her suspicions.

(Y/N) approached the toolbox and opened it. She picked a crosshead screwdriver and returned to her place behind the redhead.

"Uhm... Could you sit down?", she timidly asked. It turned his head around in annoyance, "It's not my fault you're two metres tall; I can't reach", she justified herself.

The android grabbed a stool from the table of commands and sat down, taking off its shirt. Good lord, why did he have such broad shoulders?

Without losing focus because of the android's well-built constitution, she began unscrewing each screw, taking off the lid that wouldn't be bigger than her hand.

"Wow", she was in awe watching the interior of the robot. There were lots of cables, but it wasn't chaos: they were nicely organized; there were plates with lights; little gears... She noticed that, in a plate, there was room for three fuses, but the one in the middle was missing, "Oh, no". She said, worried.

The android looked at her in confusion. She supposed it wouldn't know what she was talking about. Of course, it's not like he could see his own back.

"You're missing a fuse. I'm not an expert, but your system could get ruined if the current reaches your circuits being too high. That makes me wonder, do you work with electricity?"

The android looked at her sternly, reminding her to take care of the voice file.

"Right. First, the voice, then, the questions...", the redhead gave her a small card. She supposed she would have to insert it somewhere, "Let's see... Here". She inserted it in a specific spline.

The android stretched its neck. First to the right, then to the left. It cleared its throat and sounded as if R2-D2 had tried to speak. (Y/N) held in her laughter. On the second attempt, the deepest voice she had ever heard in her life echoed in the room.

**> vocal_chords.exe is: ON**

"Finally...". It stood up, and now it looked even taller than before.

"It works? Great", the girl started to whisper more for herself than to get a reply, "Well, mister android, I should get going...". She tried to sneak away, but the redhead didn't let her.

"Eustass Kid. That's my name", he gave her a slight push to return near to the monitor, "Call me Kid".

"And my name is (Y/N), but seriously, I should leave", she insisted. Now that he could talk, she felt more nervous. He was more human now. She hadn't been aware she was in the presence of a robot. He was so similar to a normal person that, if she hadn't read it before, she would have thought it was one of the neighbours in her town.

"You're not going anywhere". He stated, and (Y/N) found herself nodding in return. Who the hell would have the guts to go against the words of a weapon of destruction?

Kid approached the table where (Y/N)'s camera was laying and started to press buttons.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing?"

"Deleting what you recorded".

"WHAT?", she got near him, but when Kid looked at her, she stopped. She remembered who she was talking to, "Why?", she asked, bothered by it.

"I can't let the world know about my existence. It's in my programming".

"In your programming?", she mocked, "I thought you were implanted free will, why don't you use it to not touch my things?"

"Oh, I do have free will", he got closer to her with a smirk, "Want me to show you?". (Y/N) gave a big step back.

"No, thank you, I'm alright". She quickly replied with a high voice.

"Here". He threw the camera at her and the girl barely caught it, letting out a sigh.

"Don't ever do that again. My reflexes are shit, and my camera is gold", she hugged it against her chest, "My baby..."

"Hey". He spat.

"Yeah?"

"You said I was missing a fuse. Put it back". He ordered with his arms crossed.

"Jesus, is being such an asshole also in your programming?", she muttered while placing the camera somewhere safe and approached the android, "Where are there?"

Kid approached a closet where there were lots of machines, tools, and scraps of metal. He rummaged through some boxes and drew out a fuse. It seemed he knew this place like the back of his hand. It was only normal, tho. He had been living there since he was created.

"Thanks", she took the fuse and put it in its place. Some lights turned on.

**> full_vision.exe is: ON**

Kid blinked and smiled.

"Finally, I have a full vision". He stood up and turned around to look at (Y/N). He eyed her up and down.

"Is there anything wrong?". She furrowed her brow.

"No. I'm just checking if the zooming works".

"Alright, I'm out". She decided not to call him a pervert. She didn't know if android could be it.

"You still don't get it, don't you?", he blocked her path again, "I can't let a human alien to the project know about my existence". His voice was slow and serious. (Y/N) was scared. But not only because that sounded like a threat, but because she wasn't the only one that knew about the existence of the android. She had told some of her friends.

Suddenly, she felt guilty about something that still hadn't happened.


	7. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟎𝟕 - 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠, 𝙗𝙧𝙤, 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙖

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where MC is worried sick

⌦ 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠, 𝙗𝙧𝙤, 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙖 ⌫

"I can't let a human alien to the project know about my existence". Kid repeated like a robo-oh, he was a robot. Nevermind.

"So what? Are you gonna kill me?". She regretted saying that because she didn't want to know the answer, but fear spoke for her.

"I should", he answered without emotion, "However..."

"However, ...?". She repeated suspiciously, trying to get away from him as much as possible.

"You needn't worry if you stopped being a human alien to the project". The girl stared at him.

"In English, please".

"Help me retrieve the AIM.exe. Then, you'll form part of the project and I won't need to kill you". (Y/N) couldn't still believe him.

"And when you find it, what? You'll kill me when I'm no longer useful?". (Y/N) wasn't stupid. Or, at least, not that stupid.

"No. That's against the protocol. The lives of humans related to the project can't be put in danger unless they try to put the purpose of the project at risk".

"And what is that purpose?", she asked, still unsure.

"Right now, finding the AIM.exe. It's very important since it's where all of the instructions I must follow are written. That's my reason to exist. Once I find my final purpose, you'll be free. Your physical integrity is safe.

(Y/N) furrowed her brow. That sounded kind of sad. She didn't trust him, but she didn't have another choice. She should lie to her friends and tell them it was a mistake; that she didn't see any androids or anything like that.

"Alright, I'll help you". She pronounced those words with difficulty, feeling like she was selling her soul to the devil. The smile the android gave her didn't calm her down.

"Great. We have a deal. Give me your backpack". He stretched his arm out.

"Pardon?". She arched an eyebrow.

"Do as I say". (Y/N) rolled her eyes and gave him the backpack.

The redhead started to put tools and documents inside while the girl looked at him in disbelief. She didn't even feel like asking what he was doing.

"Why do you want to find that element?". She asked with actual curiosity. Kid turned his head to look at her, not stopping grabbing items.

"It's my mission. It is written in my programming that I need that file to-". The girl interrupted him.

"You didn't get it. Why?", she asked with more intensity, as if it was going to help the android understand it better, "Why would you want to follow orders? Those scientists are dead, you don't have to follow their orders", she explained, "You're now... free", she furrowed her brow in confusion. Kid's expression showed even more confusions than hers.

"It's in my programming". The girl rolled her eyes while leaning her head back. She gave up.

"Fine, fine. It's in your programming", she pouted her lips, "I thought androids would be more... I don't know", she couldn't find the right words, "You're so similar to a human and even so..."

Kid finished packing and approached her.

"The difference between you and me is that I know who my creator is and I know what my purpose is". He smashed the backpack against her chest.

(Y/N) stood still, eyes opened as big as plates, not expecting that answer.

"Bring that backpack home. When the night falls, I'll knock on your door. Understood?"

"Unders- Wait, what?". She was surprised.

"You don't expect me to leave this place in broad daylight, do you?". He said as if it was obvious.

"I wasn't expecting you to leave at all!". She admitted, yelling a bit.

"Change your plans, then. It's not safe to stay here, and people would suspect you if they saw you coming around here often. And I guess you don't want to sneak out of your home every night to see me".

"Your guess is correct", she replied, "Can't be helped...", she muttered to herself, "I deserve this, Smoker already told me to not stick my nose into business that didn't involve me".

"I agree, you should have stayed still at home".

"You too?!", she got offended, "Man, even though I'm helping you...". She shook her head.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

______ returned home with a heavier backpack than before. She entered her apartment and let herself fall on the bed with a long sigh.

She grabbed her phone without barely any energy, and wrote in the Whatsapp chat she shared with Luffy, Nami, Robin, Zoro, Usopp, Franky, Chopper... There were more than ten people in that group; she wasn't going to name them all. She sent a message.

**> (Y/N): Guys, the recordings of my last urban exploration got deleted :(**

**> Luffy: NOOOOOOO D":**

**> Usopp: Are you sure they weren't deleted by the ghost that haunts the lab? HOW CREEPY**

**> (Y/N): But I could watch them before that happened and I didn't see anything, don't worry ><**

**> (Y/N): I should have expected it hahaha**

**> Nami: What a relief, if you did record something weird, I wouldn't have slept in the next three weeks T.T**

(Y/N) exited the chat and tapped on Zoro's profile. She pressed the video call button. She waited a few seconds before he picked up the phone.

**> Zoro: (Y/N)? Everything alright?**

**> (Y/N): Yeah, yeah, everything's great. Well, except a small detail, and that's that I'm stupid. You're gonna laugh. Uhm... There wasn't an android.**

**> Zoro: What?**

**> (Y/N): Yep, that's right. I must have imagined it, I'm such an idiot. There was absolutely nothing inside of the lab, after all.**

**> Zoro: But what about everything you recorded?**

**> (Y/N): The recordings? Hmm, I don't remember. And they got deleted, so I won't be able to see them again... Well, that's fine!**

**> Zoro: Are you alright? You're acting weird.**

**> (Y/N): Weird? Me? Pff, of course not. Well, I just wanted to tell you that, see you.**

(Y/N) hung up without giving further explanations. Someone gave her an Oscar for her acting, please. Convincing 100%.

She decided to listen to some music on her phone and close her eyes, trying to forget about what she should expect when night came.

She just wanted to get away from the real world for a bit, but she couldn't help thinking about the words Kid told her:

**_"The difference between you and me is that I kno_ ** **_w who my creator is and I know what my purpose is"_ **

She dwelled on philosophical and existentialism matters (who created the humankind? What is the meaning of life?) until she fell on Morpheus' arms.


	8. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟎𝟖 - 𝙕𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙞𝙙𝙨

⌦ 𝙕𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙞𝙙𝙨 ⌫

She was awakened by Bonbon's barking in the apartment next door. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, and the phone almost fell off the bed. She had fallen asleep while listening to music. She turned on the screen and saw it was 2:03 in the morning. Another bark from Bonbon, followed by Jinbei's "Shhh".

"That's weird, Bonbon never barks at night...". (Y/N) whispered while getting up.

Suddenly, the memory came to her like a kick in her stomach.

The android.

He said he would come at night. Did he know where she lived? She hadn't given him her address (not that she was going to, anyway). Maybe he would have a special GPS for androids?

 ** _"Alexa, where does the dumbass that decides to sneak in abandoned places to press buttons live in?"_** , she imagined Kid saying.

Yeah, that was probably how he would find her.

Someone knocked on the door, and (Y/N)'s muscles got tense.

"Maybe it's the mail boy...", she muttered, "Wait, it's two in the morning, you idiot!". She realized the lack of logic in her thought.

(Y/N) approached the entrance door, tiptoeing to look through the peephole. She felt her blood ran cold. There he was. He was just standing there, menacingly.

"Am I supposed to open the door now?". She whispered for herself.

"That would be nice of you". Kid replied in a low voice to not alert the neighbours.

Shit, had he heart her? Oh, right, android super hearing, probably...

(Y/N) opened the door and let Kid in.

"Hello". She forced herself to greet. Kid looked at her without any expression, but he ended up muttering another "Hello" in return.

The android walked around as if it was his own home, probably sketching a map of the place in his head.

"Where's the backpack?". He asked.

"In my room", she pointed to the staircase with her thumb, walking towards it, "There you have it". She said when they entered the room.

Kid grabbed the backpack to draw out the documents he had previously taken. He threw them on the desk and (Y/N) saw a "Confidential" red print in the envelope. Her mouth opened instinctively.

"Why did you bring that to my home?". Now she was scared the FBI was going to knock on her door.

"You need to know about the project and have clues about where we could find the element AIM.exe". He answered as if it was normal.

"Hold on, hold on... That element is not in the lab?". She asked.

"No. I've been looking for it for weeks, every nook and cranny was inspected".

"So, you don't know where it is... And it's up to me to find it?". She raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Yes". (Y/N) breathed in.

"Calm down, (Y/N)... What if it has been stolen by...? I don't know, Turkish people? And it's not even in this country?". She flapped her arms to reinforce her words.

"Then, we'll fly to Turkey". He answered impassively.

"You gotta be kidding me". She scoffed, raising the left corner of her lip slightly.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?". No, actually, no. (Y/N) licked her lips nervously and gulped.

"Listen, uhm... Kid. I'm going to help you retrieve that damned file of yours which content you don't even know, but if the military of the United States or the Congo, I don't care, I'm selling you to pieces. Do I look like I'm kidding?". The android smirked and got a few centimetres closer to the girl's face upon the threat.

"No", he replied amused, "Anyway, you don't need to worry. My mission is also to protect each individual related to the project", he straightened his back and looked at her, "You're safe with me".

(Y/N) blinked in surprise. That would have even been cute, not having into consideration the current circumstances.

"So get on with it", he threw the documents at her face, "The sooner you find it, the sooner you'll get rid of me".

"It's three in the morning!", she complained and felt relieved that the next day was Sunday, "I'm going to bed...". She laid in bed.

"Humans are such a nuisance; always needing to sleep, eat...". He complained out loud.

"Don't you eat? I mean, of course, you won't eat a slice of pizza or anything, but don't you need energy?". She asked out of curiosity.

"I can recharge with solar energy or electricity".

"Aha! So, you did use electricity", she felt victorious, "What about sleep?"

"I don't need to sleep, but I have a function that mimics your 'sleep'.

"Go to 'sleep', then", she covered herself with the sheets, leaving an arm out to point to the door, "You can sleep standing like a vampire or go to whatever empty room you see". She said while yawning.

Kid looked at her with an unhappy face. He wanted to start working right now, but he guessed he couldn't expect a human to act like an android. It couldn't be helped. He exited (Y/N)'s room and went to the living room. He sat on the sofa.

**[stand_by MODE: Activated]**

**[duration: 4 h]**

Kid closed his eyes.


	9. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟎𝟗 - 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A not so secret android

⌦ 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 ⌫

"Wake up". A pillow smacked (Y/N) in the face, making her bolt up in surprise.

"What? Fire? Are we under attack? IT'S THE FBI, ISN'T IT? I KNEW IT, I TOLD YOU I WOULD SELL YOU". Kid smacked (Y/N) again with the pillow, shutting her up.

"Is every morning like this?", he said, "Come on, we have work to do".

"Work?", she got up from the bed, stretching, "It's Sunday! The day of the lord. There's no work today". She replied.

"Upon seeing the lack of religious objects such as rosary beads, bibles, or crucifixes in your home, I infer you are not a Christian. Excuse denied". He said in a robotic manner. (Y/N) clicked her tongue.

"I had nothing to lose...", she approached the closet to change clothes, since she had fallen asleep with the same clothes to go outside. (Y/N) looked at Kid, who was standing in the room, "Are you gonna leave or...?"

"Why should I leave?". He replied confused. (Y/N) let out a laugh. Then she realized he wasn't joking.

"Dude, I need to change, give me some privacy", she gestured with her hand towards him to leave as if he were a dog, "Shoo, shoo".

"And? What are you waiting for? We don't have all day". He said bluntly.

"I'm not going to undress in front of you!", she pointed to the door, "I don't care if you're an android. Out".

"As you wish". He lifted his hands, giving up, and exited. (Y/N) closed the door just in case.

(Y/N) sighed and changed clothes, got ready and went downstairs thinking about breakfast. She realized Kid couldn't eat anything. Would he need to charge? Maybe she would find him with a plug suck in- No, probably not.

(Y/N) chuckled at the disturbing image she had created in her mind.

"Wow", she muttered in surprise. She saw Kid making breakfast, "Maybe it won't be too bad to keep you around". She jested, approaching the stove, and smelling the sweetness in the air. Kid smiled proudly.

"Now you like my programming?". He retorted.

"Maybe", she laughed, sitting at the table, "What else do you have in your programming?". She sipped the orange juice Kid had placed on the table.

"I can make you scream in bed", (Y/N) almost choked with the orange juice. She placed the glass back on the table and started to cough uncontrollably, "Ah, yes, I can also perform Heimlich's manoeuvre. Do you require my assistance?", (Y/N) shook her head while coughing on her arm, "As you wish. I have also mastered different martial arts such as karate, judo, boxing, among others; I can shoot firearms with excellent precision; I can torture efficiently to obtain information-

"Hold your horses", (Y/N) lifted her hand in the air, "I think my appetite's gone...", she looked at the plate full of pancakes Kid had placed in front of her, "Nah, it's still there", she began eating, "But what the hell were you designed for? Being a hitman?". She jested.

"Maybe", (Y/N) almost choked again, "Heimlich's manoeuv-?"

"No need". She cut him before he could finish the sentence, coughing a bit to regain composure.

She feared what kind of android she would have gotten inside her home. And for what he was saying, it didn't look like he was designed for home chores nor taking care of pets. Suddenly, she felt like investigating more about the case without Kid forcing her. Now, the redhead was washing the dishes he had previously used.

(Y/N) jumped in surprise when she heard a loud noise of glass breaking.

"Shit, I'm sorry". Kid muttered. (Y/N) got up to see what had happened.

"Are you okay?", she grabbed his hand to see if he had cut himself. Could he even get a cut? "It's just a glass, it's okay". She reassured him with a smile.

She could see in his expression that he didn't like to commit mistakes. He didn't look happy, quite the opposite. He didn't dare look at (Y/N)'s eyes and kept his head down, his brow furrowed slightly. He almost looked innocent. Almost.

The young girl noticed that he had only a thumb in his left hand; the rest of his fingers were missing. That's probably why he couldn't hold the dishes properly.

"What happened to your hand?". She asked.

"I don't remember. My memories from that day were deleted".

"Hmm", she thought, "Can't they be retrieved?". The redhead let out a mocking laugh.

"I'm not a mobile phone, I'm an extremely advanced android. Do you really think a simple robotics student could retrieve my memory?". Instead of looking offended, he just seemed eager to brag about his high position in the robot hierarchy. (Y/N) was sure that he mocked the automatic vacuum cleaner when no one was looking.

"Alright, alright, my apologies, oh, almighty android", she gave up on that plan, "And how do you know what I'm majoring in?". She squinted her eyes.

"I've seen your university books scattered around".

"Oh", she laughed, "Well, you'll see what a simple student of robotics can do". She said in a mysterious tone.

"If it's not investigating about the element AIM.exe, I'm not interested". (Y/N) rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, jeez..."

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

She spent all day investigating.

ALL. FREAKING. DAY.

And she hadn't even found the slightest clue about where that damned file could be. (Y/N) stretched in her chair.

"God, my back...". She complained. She felt like her butt had turned a square from sitting so many hours.

"If you find something useful, I'll give you a massage". Kid said.

"Really?". She got excited.

"No".

"Tsk", she clicked her tongue, returning her attention to the documents on her desk, "It's not like I would have found something, anyway. Look at this! There's nothing, I say, NOTHING, that mentions something about the file AIM.exe.

"Of course not, dumbass. Would you write the exact location of something that important so anyone could read it and steal it?", the girl shrugged, "Thought so. You must find clues about who could have taken it and infer where it is".

"You like the word Infer, don't you?"

"It's a useful word", he looked away and replied in a small voice, "We're always inferring things..."

(Y/N)'s phone rang.

"Oh, it's Luffy!". She went to pick up the phone, but Kid didn't let her.

"No. You're working". He grabbed her arm.

"Oh, come on, just a few minutes! I've spent the whole day here", she slipped away from his grasp and picked up the phone, "Hi, Luffy!". She greeted with joy.

Oh, oh. She didn't notice it was a video call. And Kid appeared behind her in the camera.

**> Luffy: Hi, (Y/N)! Oh, are you with a friend? Hi, (Y/N)'s friend!**

Kid waved as a greeting. Well, there was no need to keep hiding him. At least from Luffy. Moreover, nobody could tell Kid was a robot. They were safe.

**> (Y/N): Everything alright over there, Luffy?**

**> Luffy: No, I'm exhausted. Lichi makes me word too hard.**

**> (Y/N): Lichi? You mean Lucci?**

**> Luffy: Yeah, the one with the pigeon on his shoulder. DID YOU KNOW IT SPEAKS?**

**> (Y/N): I think it's him the one who does ventriloquy with the bird...**

**> Luffy: Everyone says the same thing... By the way, who's your friend? I haven't seen him around, shishi.**

**> (Y/N): Oh, he's... an... exchange student! Yeah, that's right...**

**> Luffy: OOOOH, THAT'S SO COOL, I WANT TO MEET HIM.**

Kid signed to (Y/N), tapping his wrist as if he had a watch, to end the call.

**> (Y/N): Yeah, sure, tomorrow. Well, uhm, I need to hang up, Luffy.**

**> Luffy: Sure thing, (Y/N), see you tomorrow! _Shishi._**

She hung up. Great, now she would have to bring the android to class with her. Although she wasn't sure about leaving him alone at home, so it wasn't that bad. Since the campus was open to the public, she could have him wandering around. His clothes didn't draw special attention. He just wore long pants (the pattern was kind of bizarre, not gonna lie) and a tight black tank top. Nothing out of the ordinary. He would pass off as a human. Yeah.

"It's settled then, you're coming to university with me". (Y/N) said. Kid didn't look unpleased by the idea.

"There are libraries there, aren't there? I could search for extra information while you're in class".

"Ha, nice try", she shook her head, "I already tried that, and there's nothing".

"When did you go to search for information at the library?". He asked confused.

"Oh, before we... met", she smiled somewhat sarcastically, "I wanted to know more about the lab, since there were rumours about it, but found nothing".

"And since you found nothing, you decided to go yourself to investigate?"

"Yes?"

"See? Inferences". He tapped his temple with his index finger twice. The girl scoffed in amusement.

"Yeah, whatever, I'll keep inferring", she emphasized the last word, going back to sit on her chair.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

When the sun had already set, (Y/N) found something interesting.

"Oh, there are more labs where the same experiments were taking place. In North Blue, West Blue...", she was reading news in the newspapers in a digital library, "The project 03 escaped from West Blue's lab in 2007", she was surprised, "That was quite a while ago... Are there more like him?". She muttered to herself.

The sound of car wheels against the ground drew her out of her thoughts, and she got up to look through the window.

A patrol car was heading towards the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I started going to university again for classes a week ago, so I have very little time for writing :( that said, I'll probably only be able to update a chapter a week u.u


	10. 🆃🅴🆂🆃 𝟎𝟏𝟎 - 𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙞𝙙

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Kid meets some people at university

⌦ 𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙞𝙙 ⌫

"Okay, remember what I told you?". Asked (Y/N).

"Please, my memory is way better than yours", the android replied with arrogance. But he was right, "I must not speak to anybody and not draw attention. As long as I follow those rules, I'm free to do whatever I please, but I must wait for you in front of the faculty door at half-past two.

"Perfect".

She had to text Zoro that she wouldn't be able to go to university with him. It would have been a bit awkward... She would make up an excuse. Now, she only had to focus on her new project for robotics' class and, once the lessons were over, return home quickly before anyone could see them together.

But when she went outside, she saw the opposite of what she had imagined. She found Kid surrounded by various boys and girls trying to talk to him.

"Are you a new student?"

"You look strong, wanna join our football club?"

"Can I get your number?"

Alright, enough of that.

(Y/N) approached him, and the situation even looked funny, because Kid wasn't answering any comments. Of course, she had asked him to not speak to anyone. She felt kind of bad, but she hadn't expected he would take it so literally. She'd remember for next time.

"Hey, Kid". She called him with a gentle voice, feeling like she was not called into the 'conversation' that looked more like a monologue.

"You're four minutes late". He 'greeted' her back.

"It's nice to see you, too". She joked.

"(Y/N), do you know him?". Bonney, one of the girls that had been trying to talk to him spoke.

"Uh, yeah", she laughed awkwardly, "He's an exchange student, he's with me".

"Where is he from?". The pink-haired girl asked. 'Bonney, sweetheart, I have nothing against you, but I really want to leave right now', thought (Y/N).

"He's from... Scotland. See his hair? Ha, ha", she answered nervously and grabbed a lock of Kid's hair, and he looked at her raising an eyebrow, "Sorry". She cleared her throat.

"Aye, that's right. I'm Eustass Kid, from Scotland, nice to meet you". He followed her lie with a perfect Scottish accent that surprised everyone.

"Oh, wow", Bonney laughed with a high-pitched voice, "Is he single?". She played with her hair.

"Eh...", (Y/N) didn't know what to answer. 'No, I don't think androids have a very interesting love life'. That answer, despite being tempting, wasn't the right one. Kid took the bullet, grabbing (Y/N) by her waist.

"Sorry, I'm with her. Try your luck somewhere else". He smirked and pressed (Y/N) closer to his body.

Bonney was embarrassed after that and left.

(Y/N) tried to get away from him.

"Come on, we have to go back home". She tried to drag him alone, but he was too heavy. Of course, he was a giant piece of metal.

"Why the rush? I saved you from that question", he chuckled, "Didn't you find it sexy, though?". He whispered with the same accent near (Y/N)'s ear, who covered her ears and shrugged.

"I won't sin!" She blushed.

"Sing? Are you going to a karaoke?", Luffy appeared out of nowhere, "I want to go, too... Oh, hi, (Y/N)'s friend!", he laughed. Eustass waved at him, and the boy noticed he was missing two fingers, "WOW, THAT'S SO COOL", his eyes were sparkling, "How did that happen? Fighting with a shark?"

"No". Kid answered.

"With a crocodile?"

"No".

"With an alligator?"

"No".

"With a moth?"

"No... Wait, how the hell would I-?". Kid replied in confusion. Luffy just laughed.

"I like you, uh...", he paused, "What's your name?"

"Kid".

"I like you, Philip!"

"What? No, Kid".

"Mip".

"Kid".

"Sid."

"Kid..."

"Gregory".

"It doesn't even sound similar!"

"Shi-shi", Luffy laughed, "Your friend is so funny, (Y/N)". The girl also laughed.

After that conversation with Luffy, who only wanted to meet Kid, they continued walking home.

(Y/N) didn't see that, in the distance, a certain greenhead was observing her returning home with the redhead.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

(Y/N) and Kid took the bus to go home.

"You know?", she commented after sitting down, "You could have answered to those people, as long as you hadn't revealed that you are... You know". She remembered they were in a public space.

"You told me to not speak to anybody, so I didn't until you got out of class".

"You're a hella weird android...", she looked through the window, "You only follow the orders you want, but don't have enough will to go against the others".

Kid didn't reply and just looked at (Y/N). After a few seconds, he took his gaze away from her and laid back in his seat, looking straight forward.


End file.
